


The Two Before They Changed The Fandom

by RachelANDChesca (BlackParadise)



Series: The Two and The Fandom [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Abortion, Abuse, Boys only met briefly, Character Death, Cutting, Depression, F/M, Gen, Minor Character Death, Prequel, Rape, Stabbing, Teen Pregnancy, that's all I can think of right now
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-26
Updated: 2013-10-25
Packaged: 2017-12-30 12:10:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 25
Words: 20,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1018442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackParadise/pseuds/RachelANDChesca
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You know the story. What happened when the two girls met the five boys. But what happened beforehand? What shaped these girls into who they are? How did the journey start, all those years ago? Learn things you never knew in the prequel to The Two That Changed The Fandom, The Two Before They Changed The Fandom</p><p> </p><p>YAY!! This story has been being written over the past little while, since The Two That Changed The Fandom ended. We decided to write it and send it to each other before publishing, because we weren't sure how it would turn out. If you are reading this right now, I guess we thought it was good enough to be published!</p><p> </p><p>So without further ado... The Two Before They Changed The Fandom</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Where It All Began - Lizzy

“Pleeeeeeease Miss” I begged, giving her he puppy dog eyes. “No, we agreed, we made a bet, you gotta do it” I grimaced but began to make my way to the front of the class.

 

Okay… Rewind. You are probably wondering who I am, what’s going on and why I have to ballroom dance to rock or pop music depending on what my teacher feels like playing.

 

Hello, my name is Elizabeth Jane Sanders, I am in my final year of school and if you call me Elizabeth I will go all Chuck Norris on your ass. Anyway, at the beginning of last year I made a bet with my teacher that I wouldn’t pass P.E. If I did pass I had to dance in front of the class and if I didn’t she would have to buy me lunch.

 

Pretty lame bet but hey, what can I say, I’m a lame person… But I passed last year, much to the shock of the entire community at my school, but more about that later. Right now, I had to dance in front of my P.E class.

 

The song blast out and I groaned. “Seriously Miss” I yelled through the gym, hearing her manic laughter echoing around.

 

The thing about ballroom dancing is that it normally requires two people, but I had to make do with one… Myself.

 

Baby by Justin Beiber blared out of the speakers as I began to twirl. It was very difficult trying to keep in rhythm and get the steps right. Then suddenly there was another girl twirling with me, joining in the steps perfectly.

 

We fox-trotted across the gym. “Thanks” I said as we broke apart and took a bow, as the class clapped. “Couldn’t let you go through that torture alone” She grinned, before sticking out her hand, “I’m Nat”. I shook her hand, “Lizzy”.

 

“Wanna be friends?” She asked, straight up. “On one condition” I said slowly and her face fell. “What is your OTP?” I tried to keep my face serious.

 

She thought for a second before her face lit up. “Noor” She said and I looked at her confused. “Nat and Floor” She explained and I let out a laugh. “We can be friends” I said and she jumped up and down before wrapping me in a hug.

 

I winced slightly, as her hand hit one of the bruises on my back, but thankfully she didn’t notice. “Girls, sit down, I have a lesson to teach” The teacher barked.


	2. If You Ever Say That Name In My Presence Again I Will... - Nat

"We can be friends." Lizzy said with a smile and I hugged her excitedly. She winced slightly, but I let it go, I was too happy.

"So, how come we have never met?" I asked curiously.

"Never been in the same classes, I presume." Lizzy answered as the teacher yelled at us to sit down. We ignored her however.

"OI, GIRL! GET YOUR A** ON THE FLOOR!" One of the guys yelled as he chucked a ball in our direction.

"Why should we?" I asked catching it neatly, and chucking it back to him.

"Because I'm trying to teach a class, which Lizzy will pass this year." Our P.E teacher said, entering the conversation. We reluctantly sat down as Lizzy muttered something along the lines of "in your dreams".

The rest of P.E passed fairly boringly. When the period ended, I walked with Lizzy to our lockers, which coincedentily were right next to each other.

"What do you have next?" I asked as I dug around, trying to find my math textbook.

"Maths." She relplied, putting books in her bag.

"Same, you got it with Ms Nia?"

"Yep!" Lizzy replied excitedly.

"Sweet." I said as I dramatically slammed my locker door shut, making Lizzy giggle smirk. I decided to continue with my act, and did the most dramatic model walk I could. Lizzy followed, also doing a model walk. We got to the bathroom and Lizzy headed towards it.

"Could you save a seat for me?" She asked, as I started to follow her in.

"Sure." I said as she went in and I went to find a seat in a sunny area. I found it a bit weird that she didn't want me to be in the bathroom with her, but I respected her privacy.

Lizzy came out shortly later, grinning when she spotted me. She sat down next to me, and I pulled out my apple and yogurt. I started eating, and noticed that Lizzy didn't seem to have any lunch.

"Do you want some apple?" I asked offering her a piece.

"No I'm fine." She replied politely.

"You know you want it." I said teasingly.

"Do you mind?" She asked as I waved the apple in her face.

"Nope! That's why I offered it." I replied handing her the piece. She gingerly took it and dipped it in the yogurt, before biting into it.

"My god this is so good!:" She exclaimed.

"I know right." I replied, my mouth full of mushed up apple.

"Charming." Lizzy commented.

"Yep. Is your real name Elizabeth?" I asked, abruptly changing the subject.

"Yes, but if you ever say that name again in my presence I will go all Chuck Norris on your ass." Lizzy threatened.

"Ok then." I answered, smiling.

"What should we talk about now?" Lizzy said after about two minutes of us sitting there silently.

"Ummm, Do you have any siblings?" I asked and Lizzy's face dropped.


	3. History Unites Us All - Lizzy

My face fell and I could hear my heart thumping slightly louder. "I have a half-sister" I whispered. Nat looked at me concerned. "You okay?" she asked cautiously and I nodded.

"My sister lives in Phoenix, Arizona. I haven't seen her in person since I was nine years old." I said. "Oh, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up" she said quickly, as the bell rang. We stood up, making our way across the field. "It's okay, I'm used to it by now, and we Skype most nights, she has two kids and they are so adorable" I gushed, grinning widely.

I grabbed my wallet out of my bag, showing her the small picture of Lily and Jake. "Awwww" she cooed as we stepped into the maths class.

One extremely tedious maths lesson later we walked out of the classroom. "I though year 13 was meant to be easy" Nat groaned and I mumbled my consent. "What have you got next?" Nat asked. I checked my timetable before jumping up and down with my fist in the air. "History!" I cheered. "I have that too!" She exclaimed and we high-fived.

"HI MS JENKINS" I yelled, running into the history class room and giving her a hug. Nat ran after me and hugged her as well. "Looks like you two are back, in the same class this year. The other students should be scared" she laughed as we took our seats.

I winced slightly as I sat down, the edge of the table slightly hitting my wrist. I let out a small gasp and looked down. I tried to be subtle, but I think Nat noticed. I let out a sigh as a small bloodstain began spreading on the sleeve of my long-sleeve shirt.

"Dammit" I muttered under my breath, trying to conceal the stain as best I could. In the end I put my jumper back on, even though it was an extremely hot day. "You okay Lizzy, you're white as a sheet" Nat whispered, most of her attention focused on Ms Jenkins. "Yea, I'm fine" I replied, plastering a smile on my face.

I took notes dilligently, History was my favourite subject. Once the class ended I jumped up, rushing out the door. I could hear Nat hurrying after me. "What's the rush?" she asked as she came up beside me. "My dad doesn't like me being late home" I said quickly, "Or home at all" I added, whispering the last part to myself. 

"Oh, I was hoping you'd come round to my house for a while" Nat sounded genuinely disappointed. I decided to risk it, hopefully Dad would be passed out drunk by the time I got home anyway. "I'll come" I said brightly.


	4. Home and THE BEST MOTHER EVER - Nat

"Wasn't history fun?" I commented as we walked to my place.

"Yeah it was." Lizzy replied, she seemed a bit distracted.

"You ok?" I asked as we turned into my street.

"Yeah. Fine."

"Ok then. Welcome to my house." I said as we turned down my driveway.

"Wow. It's really nice." Lizzy commented as I shoved our gate open. I pushed it closed again and walked up the stairs and opened the door.

"HEY MUM! I HAVE A FRIEND OVER!" I yelled in the general direction of the kitchen.

"YOU HAVE FRIENDS?" She yelled back.

"YEAH WE BONDED OVER DANCING TO BABY BY JUSTIN BIEBER IN P.E." I yelled back, noticing that Lizzy flinched slightly.

"DO I WANT TO KNOW?"

"YES YOU DO!" I shouted as I led Lizzy into the kitchen and stole a couple of cookies.

"HEY!" She said, slapping my hand lightly. Lizzy stood awkwardly in the corner, twiddling her thumbs, literally.

"THANK YOU!" My mother yelled as she pulled Lizzy into an embrace. Lizzy gave me a look and I pulled mum off her.

"Mum two things, one, this is Lizzy and i don't know her last name and two, you're scaring her."

"My last name is Sanders." Lizzy said, politely.

"Nice to meet you Lizzy." My mother said.

"We're going to go and ship noor in my room." I said smiling as I left the room, Lizzy hurriedly following after me.

"Your mother is... energetic." Lizzy said as I collapsed on my bed.

"Yeah, she is, but she's pretty awesome." I said as I pulled Lizzy onto the bed.

"Yeah." Lizzy agreed.

"So what do you want to do?" I asked, sitting up abruptly.

"No idea."

"Hmmm, do you like The Wanted?"

"YES!" Lizzy replied excitedly.

"Then lets dance to Chasing The Sun repetitively." I exclaimed.

"Ok." Lizzy agreed hesitantly.


	5. Home

We danced for over an hour, until we got exhausted, so we headed downstairs for more cookies.

 

We hung out doing random stuff until around 6.30pm, at which point I knew I had to head home and face the music. I just hoped dad was passed out by now. "I'll see you later" I said, giving Nat a gentle hug before walking out the door and down her garden path.

 

It felt good to have a friend, someone who actually liked me. Even though she probably wouldn't be around for that much longer. Most people left after they found out the truth about me. No one wanted to be around a suicidal freak. 

I opened my door quietly, listening for signs of life. When I heard none I crept into the kitchen, grabbing some dry noodles and an apple for dinner before startign to creep up to my room, not wanting to wake him.

"WHAT SORT OF TIME DO YOU CALL THIS?" I heard a voice roar from behind me and I whipped around, cursing my luck. I put my apple and noodles down, gritting my teeth, knowing what was coming.

The hand hit my face roughly, sending me flying. "YOU KNOW TO BE HOME BY 4PM" He screamed, lifting me up by my hair. He spat in my face before throwing me across the room. He walked over to where I lay crumpled on the ground and sent a few sharp kicks into my ribs before stalking out of the room, slamming the front door behind him.

I crawled to my room, clutching my stomach and grabbing my food on the way. I thank my luck he hadn't been worse. This was just a warm-up to what would come later tonight.

I ate my food quickly before heading to the bathroom, staring at the new black eye forming. I would have to remember to cover that up with makeup in the morning. I pulled my shirt off, surveying the new damage to the sea of bruises across my torso.

My eyes then went to my wrists. There were two new cuts there, from this morning. I hadn't been able to stop thinking about how Nat was probably just playing a prank on me, and it drove me over the edge. They had scabbed over but then I had knocked them in history, knocking the scabs off. 

I grabbed out my razor and added a few more cuts, trying to build myself up for when he would get home. I dreaded it, more than anyone could know.

He arrived home at 3am, storming up the stairs and slamming my door open witha loud bang. He dragged me out of the room by my hair, pulling off items of my clothing on the way. 

He threw me onto his bed then climbed on top of me.

(Just saying I am NOT going to write a rape scene. So yea, he rapes her)

Once he was done I crawled back to my room, flopping onto my bed and waiting for sleep to come. When it didn't I grabbed my book and began reading. I read until my alarm went off in the morning. 

I pulled myself to the bathroom, covering the black eye with make-up and making sure none of my other bruises or cuts were visible. I pressed the razor to my wrist a few more times, to drown out the memory of what had happened last night.

I lifted my shirt slightly to see what new word he had carved into my flesh. 'Slut' the word was just starting to fully scab over and I knew it would leave a prominent scar, he had cut deep.

I packed my bag, deciding against breakfast and left quietly, beginning the twenty minute walk to school.


	6. "LIZZY?!" - Nat

"HEY LIZZY!" I shouted as I ran into school. Her head spun around in shock, but when she saw me she gave a weak smile.

 

"Hey." She replied as I caught up to her. I noticed that she seemed to have a lot of make-up on one eye. I was just about to ask her about it when the bell rang

 

"Bugger." I muttered as I ran to my locker and then to form class. I ran in just as the second bell rang.

 

"That was very close, Miss Johnson." Our form teacher Ms Cater, growled as I walked in.

 

"Sorry." I muttered as I sat down in the only seat left. Unfortunately it was the seat that was the furtherest away from Lizzy.

 

"Now time for notices." Ms Cater said, and I put my head on the desk, daydreaming about random things.

 

"Nathalie Johnson."

 

"Huh, yeah?" I replied, sitting up.

 

"I was calling the roll." Ms Cater said dryly.

 

"Ok, I'll go back to my daydream then." I said and I could see Lizzy holding back a giggle.

 

"Do you think you're funny?"

 

"Nope." I replied. Ms Cater sighed grumpily, and I ignored her. The bell rang and I got up as quickly as I could.

 

"YUS History first." I said happily as I caught up to Lizzy. She seemed to be avoiding my slightly.

 

"Oh, hi." Lizzy said, reluctantly.

 

"Hey, are you ok?" I asked.

 

"Yeah." She muttered as we walked into History. I sat down and she sat down behind me. I decided that I would ask Ms Jenkins about it after class as she would probably know if Lizzy was ok.

 

After History I stayed behind as Lizzy disappeared.

 

"Hey miss."

 

"Hi Nat. How can I help?"

 

"I'm a bit worried about Lizzy. She was really happy and bubbly yesterday, but today she seems really upset and is avoiding me. I was just wondering if she has been like this before." I explained.

 

"She has been like this before. She insists that she is fine, but it's kinda easy to tell that she isnt. Thats one of the reasons I was really happy that you guys seemed to get along, I was hoping that you would get her to open up a bit."

 

"I'll try, and thanks for letting me know. I'm going to go and find her." I said as I walked out. I went to where we were sitting yesterday, but I couldn't see her anywhere. I decided to check in the bathroom.

 

When I got to the bathroom, I heard a gasp of pain.

 

"Lizzy?" I called out.


	7. The Truth - Lizzy

I stood outside the history door, listening to Nat and Ms Jenkins talking.

"I'm a bit worried about Lizzy. She was really happy and bubbly yesterday, but today she seems really upset and is avoiding me. I was just wondering if she has been like this before." I heard Nat ask and I cursed to myself. I hadn't done a very good job of hiding it.

I had been staying distant because I though Nat would just leave like everyone else, but maybe I was wrong about her. I also didn't want her to find out about what happened at home every night. If I let her get close to me it wouldn't end well, and I didn't want her to get hurt. 

"She has been like this before. She insists that she is fine, but it's kinda easy to tell that she isnt. Thats one of the reasons I was really happy that you guys seemed to get along, I was hoping that you would get her to open up a bit." I heard Ms Jenkins reply and I quickly started running to the bathroom, the need overwhelming me.

My secret wasn't staying much of a secret, it seemed like everyone noticed when I changed, when I drew into myself to stop from getting hurt even more.

I cut myself twice in the bathrooms, letting out a small gasp of pain as I cut deeper then I should've. "Lizzy?!" I heard Nat called out and I cursed under my breath again, quickly stepping out of the cubicle and brushing past her, before sprinting down the deserted hallway. I hadn't noticed the bell ringing, but it must have gone while I was in the bathroom.

I heard Nat running behind me, calling out my name and I tried to run faster. My injuries from last night and every other time my father has gotten mad slowed me down and I knew she would catch up soon.

“Lizzy, what are you doing?” Nat asked quietly, as she pulled me to a stop. “Nothing” I said, trying to turn away only to have her pull me back, a fierce look on her face. It scared me. I didn’t know whether it was because she was mad at me or something else.

I couldn’t help it. It was involuntary. I flinched away from her, letting out a small squeak as I shrank back into the corner. “Lizzy” I heard her say quietly. “Don’t hurt me” I shrieked and I heard her gasp. “Lizzy, I won’t hurt you I promise” I heard her whispered, then comforting arms wrapped around my torso.

She hugged me gently until the tears stopped pouring down my face. The she very slowly, and gently began to roll my sleeves up. She gasped as the rows of cuts came into view, some scabbed over, other fresher, some older, but mainly she focused on the one that was still fresh, still bleeding.


	8. Why? - Nat

"Why?" I asked simply, trying to hold back the shock in my voice.

 

"It doesn't matter." She murmured, trying to turn away.

 

"Yes it does. What happened? Are you okay?" I asked, leading her back to the bathrooms.

 

"It's nothing. I'm just a stupid little freak."

 

"WHAT THE HELL?" I yelled, and Lizzy flinched, backing into the corner. "Sorry." I muttered, quietening down.

 

"It's the truth. Its why no one wants to be friends with me." She said shakily, holding back tears.

 

"One, I want to be friends with you, and two, you aren't a freak." I said as I found some paper towels and pressed them against the cut that was still bleeding.

 

"YES I AM!" She yelled. "NOW WE NEED TO GET TO CLASS!"

 

"Not until you tell me what's happening. Its only P.E anyway and you wouldn't be able to do much." I replied, blocking the door. Lizzy sighed, sensing that I wasn't going to give in.

 

"I really don't want to tell you." She murmured, leaning against the opposite wall.

 

"You can tell me anything. I would never tell a soul. I swear." I replied, my face dead serious.

 

"I do this b-b-because I..." Lizzy stammered out, before collapsing on the ground, her body shaking with the sobs.

 

"Hey, hey, it's ok. Everything will be ok." I comforted sitting down next to her and pulling her into a gentle embrace.

 

"I-i-i think I'll j-j-j-j-just s-s-show you."

 

"Ok. I'm fine with that." I said as she got up and went to the taps. She grabbed a paper towel and put it under the tap, wetting it. She wiped across the eye that had the makeup on it, it had smudged before when she was crying.

 

When it was fully removed she turned to face me and I couldn't hold back a gasp. There was a hand shaped bruise across her cheek and eye. She came back, and slowly lifted up her shirt.

 

"Oh, Lizzy." I gasped, as she revealed her stomach that was bruised and scarred, the most recent cuts spelling out 'slut'.

 

"Who did this to you?" I asked, anger surging through me.

 

"Someone." She said cautiously, sensing my anger.

 

"Please tell me Lizzy." I said quietly, gesturing for her to sit down next to me again. She slowly sat down.

 

"I'm not ready to tell you." She murmured.

 

"Okay, promise you'll tell me sometime though." I said, looking directly in her eyes.

 

"I will, just not right now." She replied. "Now what am I going to do about this stupid bruise?” She asked rhetorically.

"I have some makeup from Drama last year, that I forgot to take out of my bag." I suggested.

"Thank-you so much." Lizzy gushed.

"It's fine, now face me." I said as I got the makeup out of my bag.


	9. All I Have Left - Lizzy

Nat finished applying the makeup to my face, making it look a whole load more natural than I did earlier. Then we made our way to P.E, walking in halfway through the lesson. Miss sent us a look a but since she liked us she let it slide and continued to teach us about how to climb the ropes.

Then she paired us up and got us to start climbing. Nat and I headed over to a rope and strapped our harnesses on. "Nat, I can't do this" I whispered and she nodded.

"I know, I'll just go up and down and if Miss comes over we can say you've already been" Nat said and I nodded, grateful one of us had a plan.

The plan worked, although I had to bandage up the blisters Nat got from climbing up and down that rope over 15 times in the rest of the lesson.

Nat walked me home, because by this point I was struggling to breathe. I stopped her at my front gate, making her promise that no matter what she saw or heard she wouldn't come inside. She looked at me confused but nodded.

I could almost see the pieces fitting together in her head, who was doing this to me. 

We walked up the path and I unlocked the door, stepping through quickly and waving goodbye to Nat before grabbing a carrot from the kitchen and heading upstairs. I managed to make it to my room unscathed, only to find him sitting on my bed waiting.

"Too slow" He snarled, punching me in the stomach. The pain grew too much but as he climbed over me I blacked out, thankful I wouldn't have to experience that again.

I woke up hours later, head throbbing and my entire body aching. I managed to drag myself into bed, coughing up blood before collapsing into sleep.

It was hard getting myself to school the next morning, I was in so much pain. I walked through the school gates and Nat ran towards me. I was about to say something when I felt my stomach clench. I clapped a hand over my mouth and recognition shone in Nat's eyes and she quickly helped me to the bathroom, where I puked out some bile. Nothing really came up because I didn't have dinner last night or breakfast this morning.

"You need to go to the nurse" Nat stated, helping me clean myself up. I shook my head. "Lizzy, you can't keep letting him do this to you" she urged as I lowered myself onto the floor.

"He's all I have left of my mum"I whispered and as Nat opened her mouth to reply I shushed her. "You don't get it, he's the only family I have left. My mum ran away, my sister is in America. I don't have any other relations. He's all I have left" My voice was shrill, panicked and I was crying, fat tears falling down my face.


	10. Please Let Me Help - Nat

"Hey it's ok. Calm down." I said, trying to comfort her. She continued sobbing and I helped her stand up, before putting the toilet seat down and helping her to sit down.

"You can't go to class like this." I said and Lizzy looked up.

"Yes I can." She said around her sobs. "I have before." In that moment, my heart broke.

"No you can't." We are going to stay in here for now, until I think of something." I said as I locked the stall and sat down on the floor.

"Just let me go to class. I'll survive." Lizzy protested.

"Thats just the point, you'll survive, barely. We have P.E first today. How are you going to get through that?" I asked. She struggled for an answer and I rubbed my forehead, trying to come up with an idea.

"We can go back to my place!" I exclaimed, and Lizzy shook her head furiously, holding back tears again.

"Why not?" I asked, moving closer to her, so I could rub her back.

"Because you and 'him' are the only ones that know, and I want to keep it that way."

"My parents are at work, no one is at home. I promise." I said, and Lizzy started crying again.

"What a-a-about school?" She stuttered out.

"We can miss one day. Please just let me take care of you." I said as I helped her up. She nodded her head, sensing defeat and I placed my arm around her, so I could help her walk. The bell had rung ten minutes ago, so no one should be around. We walked down the hallway slowly, Lizzy limping heavily.

We were almost at the door when Mrs Jenkins came around the corner.

"What are you girls doing?" She asked, as Lizzy muttered something under her breath.

"It's the stuff we were talking about yesterday. I need to take her home." I explained.

"Ok, I'll sort out your attendance." She said, opening the door for us.

"Thank you so much." I said, gratefully as we left.

"Can we please stop?" Lizzy asked when we were about halfway home. She was short of breath and I was mostly carrying her. I set her down on the ground and she put her hands between her knees.

"We need to get you to my place." I said as I picked her up. She was ridiculously light. I gently carried her home and placed her on my bed. I went searching in my wardrobe for some clean clothes. I found some and helped her to get changed. I noticed that she was really skinny, and her ribs were really obvious.

"You hungry?" I asked. She shook her head.

"I feel too sick." She muttered, and I nodded my head in understanding. I helped her to lie down again and went searching for some first aid stuff.


	11. Patch Up - Lizzy

Nat returned with the first aid kit soon after and patched me up before helping me down to the living room. We watched a couple of movies. 

"Lizzy, you hungry?" Nat asked as she checked over my patch jobs. "A little bit" I said and she jumped up, coming back with a bowl of soup.

I ate slowly, getting about halfway through the bowl before giving up.

"Lizzy, I need to ask you something." Nat said, walking back in from putting the bowl away. "Are you anorexic?" she asked bluntly and I jumped in shock. 

"No" I shook my head. "Then why are you so skinny?" She pushed. "I don't get much food at home, so my body doesn't get much nutrition" I explained. 

I heard a door click downstairs and we both jumped in shock. "Nat, you here?" It was a man's voice and I flinched. "It's my cousin, it's okay" Nat whispered, as the door to the living room opened.

"Nat"The man gasped, rushing forward and pulling her into a hug, "Your mum is so worried." They broke apart and Nat gave him a small smile. "Why are you here Jo?" Nat asked. 

"The school called your mum, and since she couldn't leave work, she called me" He explained, before turning stern, "Why aren't you at school?".

"Right, that, ummm" Nat struggled for an answer. "She's helping me" I jumped in and he turned to me, as though noticing me for the first time. Which wasn't that surprising. I was good at making myself invisible.

"I fell over in P.E and they were going to send me home, but I couldn't get there myself so Nat said she'd help me out, it must have gotten lost in translation" I lied smoothly, used to having to cover things up.

"Anyway, Joseph, meet Lizzy, Lizzy, meet Joseph." Nat said, smoothly changing the subject. I reached out and shook his hand, "Pleasure to meet you" I smiled. 

"I've got to get to class, keep out of mischief" He gave Nat another hug before leaving. "Class? He is way too old to be going to school still" I laughed, sitting back down.

"He's at Uni, studying Medicine, he's got three more years to go" Nat explained, walking over to the movie selection. "Now, more pressing matters. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire or Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban?"


	12. BUCKBEAK! - Nat

Nats POV

"Prisoner of Azkaban! I love Buckbeak!" Lizzy exclaimed.

"ME TOO!" I shouted, grinning wildly.

"Let us watch it then." She said, trying to sound posh whilst I put the DVD in the player.

"Indeed, let us do so." The movie started and I sat down next to Lizzy.

A couple of hours later

"I hate knowing that Sirius is going to die!" I yelled randomly, and Lizzy looked at me, nodding in agreement.

"I've got to go now." Lizzy stated, attempting to get up.

"You can't just go home, not after what he did to you!" I exclaimed, making Lizzy flinch.

"I have to." She whispered. "It's the best way to reduce the punishment."

"Lizzy. You cannot go home. You can barely walk."

"I have to." She replied, finally standing up and hobbling to the doorway. I got up and ran ahead of her, blocking the door.

"Please let me go." Lizzy begged anxiously.

"I just don't want to see you get hurt more than you already are."

"Then let me go home!" Lizzy yelled, with a surprising amount of determination in her voice. I looked at her surprised, but her face was emotionless.

"Fine." I whispered, moving out of the way. "But please let me help you home." I begged.

"Okay." Lizzy replied with a sigh. I moved to put my arm around her shoulder and help her out of the house.

We slowly walked back to Lizzy's house, ignoring the strange glances that everyone was giving us. We finally arrived and Lizzy pushed my arm off.

"Thanks." She murmured, turning away, and starting towards the front door.

"Lizzy!" I called and she turned around again.

"If you ever need help, and I mean ever. I don't care what it's for or why you need it, just come by my place. Please."

"I will." She replied, and walked up the stairs. I faked walking off and when she wasn't looking I hid behind a tree, watching to see what would happen. She slowly dug around for her key, and eventually found it, unlocking the door and letting herself in. It seemed as if no one was home.

Suddenly I heard a yell and a crash from behind the door. I saw Lizzy briefly before the door was slammed, blocking any view or sound I had. I regretfully stepped out from behind the tree and walked back home, worrying about Lizzy the entire way.

The Next Day

I woke up early the next morning after a fitful sleep last night. I quickly had a shower and got dressed, pulling on my boring uniform. I raced downstairs and ate breakfast as fast as I possibly could. My mother gave me a weird look, but as soon as I was finished I went to the kitchen to make myself and Lizzy some lunch. I had noticed that she didn't have any lunch, and I knew that she was bordering on malnutrition. I jammed the lunch into my bag along with my books and raced out the door, not even saying goodbye to my mother.

When I got to school, I saw Lizzy sitting in a corner, her head in her knees. I raced over to her and sat down next to her.

"What's wrong?" I asked, trying to get her to look up.


	13. I Need You To Do Something - Lizzy

I looked up, my face tear-stained. Nat pulled me into a gentle hug. "Nat, I need you to do me a favor" I whispered, my voice breaking as yet more tears fell down my face. "Anything" She smiled gently, brushing hair off my forehead, revealing a bruise forming along my hairline.

I heard her gasp slightly bu she shrugged it off, lifting my chin slightly to meet her gaze, "What do you need Lizzy?" She said firmly, concern for me filling her tone.

"I...I need" I started, but my voice broke as I started to sob again. "Sssssh, it's going to be okay" She murmured, holding me closing and rocking back and forth slightly. "No, it's not" I sobbed out, looking down at my hands.

"Just breathe Liz, tell me when you're ready" She soothed, rubbing my back as my breathing slowed down. 

"Nat" I whispered, "I need you to buy something for me". She nodded, "please Lizzy, just tell me". I took a deep breathe, knowing that the last wall would fall down. She knew my father beat me. She knew I cut. She probably knew I was suicidal. But she didn't know what my father did to me every night. What he took on my fifteenth birthday.

"I need you to buy me a pregnancy test" Once the words were out, I regretted them. I saw the blatant shock on her face, I felt her hands stiffen around me. I could see in her eyes. She figured it out. What he took. What he continues to take.

I froze, before standing up. She stood up as well. I waited for her to smile. It would be fake, I knew that much. She would fake a smile, make an excuse and run. Run and never look back. Who would want to look back at the freaky girl who lost her virginity at age fifteen?

"Okay" She whispered, and it was my turn to look at her in shock. Did she say okay? "I'll be right back" She promised, "You stay right there"

I nodded, sitting back down. She checked her watch and I could see her counting in her head. She gave a little shrug, before sprinting off.

I sat there, head in my hands, for five minutes, knowing deep down that she would come back. My brain was telling my heart to give up on her, that she would be like everyone else. But my heart wouldn't give up. Wouldn't give up on the only person my age who had shown me kindness in months. Years.

She returned, panting wildly. In her hand was a small paper bag. I could guess what was in it. She pulled a water bottle out of her school bag and handed it to me, "Drink" she ordered gently, before helping me up.

We walked swiftly to the closest bathroom. "We have five minutes until the bell rings. The test takes three. We can do this now, or we can wait until later. Your choice" She said softly, handing me the paper bag. "Now" I said swiftly, the decision made in my head. 

She nodded and I walked into the stall, following the instructions. "Do you want to come out? Or wait in there in case someone walks in?" She asked through the door. "In here" I managed to choke out, not wanting Nat to see me cry even more.

I sat on the floor, head in my hands, waiting for the test to be ready. "It should be done now" Nat called though the door. "Okay" I whispered. 

"Lizzy wait" Nat called and I froze. "I want you to know, no matter what that test says, I'm in this with you" I let out a sob. She meant it. I could hear it in her words. She was with me. No matter what.

Her proclamtion gave me the strength to pick up the stick and flip it over. 

A smiley face. I checked the instruction sheet once, twice. Then back to the test. The small curve was almost mocking me, that small smile taunting me. I let out another sob, followed by another, all of them coming thick and fast.

"Lizzy" Nats voice drifted through my sobs, "Open the door". I managed to undo the lock, before crumpling to my knees. Nat caught me, before carefully lowering me to the floor as I sobbed. I handed her the test wordlessly, although I kenw she could figure out the results.

We sat on that bathroom floor for a while. Nat was rubbing my back gently, and I was crying. I heard the bell ring, but Nat ignored it, continuing to comfort me. I tried to make her go to class. I was in no state to, but she did't need to get a detention because of me. She brushed off my concern.

After an hour, I managed to form coherent words. "I can't have this baby" I choked out, still sobbing, "I can't bring a child into this world. Into a world where he exists. I can't put another life through this". My voice was soft, broken. I didn't want to do this. But it was my only option.

Even if I kept the baby, to give it for adoption, my father would notice. And he would make me lose the baby in the most painful way possible. And that would hurt the baby. As much as it hurt me to kill a human being, I knew it was the right thing to do. Better it died in a peaceful humane way, before it was aware of what was happening, then being ripped from life in a cruel way.

"Are you sure?" Nat whispered. I couldn't form anymore words, but I nodded. I could explain my reasoning to her in a more detailed manner when I was calmer. But there would be no changing of my mind. 

I would not have this baby. I wasn't even sure if my body could handle a child. I couldn't have this baby. "I can't" I tried to say more but Nat shushed me.

"It's your choice, and I'll support you with it" She soothed, running her hands through my hair. "I need to do it, before he finds out. He can't find out" I cried. Nat nodded, "I'll make some calls, get you an appointment as soon as possible."

She pulled out her phone, still rubbing my back gently. She talked to her mother first, explaining to her she was at school, but not in class. Then she started calling doctors. Finally she found one who agreed to see me and she began making arrangements for a consultation.

Finally she hung up the phone. I looked up at her and she nodded slightly, "Tomorrow morning, nine o'clock"


	14. We Need To Tell Her - Nat

Nathalies POV

"Do you want to go to class?" I asked Lizzy gently. She nodded her head lightly, a small smile on her face.

 

"Come on then." I said, hauling Lizzy onto her feet. We slowly made our way to class, which luckily was History. As we walked in Mrs Jenkins gave us a pointed look, but let us sit down. The rest of the class passed without much incident, until the end of the lesson, that was.

 

"Everybody can pack up now. Lizzy and Nat, could you please stay behind for a short time after class." Mrs Jenkins called as she put the textbooks we had been using away. Lizzy gave me a scared look.

 

"It'll be okay. It's Mrs Jenkins, she won't tell a soul." I reassured, but Lizzy still looked terrified. The bell rang and the class quickly dispersed, leaving us and Mrs Jenkins.

 

"Come on Lizzy." I said, standing up, grabbing her books for her. Lizzy reluctantly stood up and went down the aisle, stopping at Mrs Jenkins’s desk.

 

"What did you want to see us for?" Lizzy whispered.

 

"You have been missing several lessons, in all your subjects, I have noticed." She explained, and Lizzy visibly sank.

 

"Yeah, about that..." I started, before Mrs Jenkins interrupted.

 

"You don't have to tell me, but I would appreciate it if you did." She explained. I looked down to Lizzy.

 

"Don't tell her about it, please." She begged. I looked between Lizzy and Mrs Jenkins, suddenly noticing that the bruise on her forehead could be seen.

 

"Lizzy, I can see your bruise, and what am I supposed to tell her?" I asked. Lizzy bolted upright, and dashed out, the tears that had pooled in her eyes escaping.

 

"Dammit." I muttered to myself. "Sorry Mrs Jenkins, I gotta go, I'll get back to you though." I yelled, running out of the classroom and following Lizzy down the hallway. She ran outside, and went down to the bottom field, where no one sat. I caught up to her as she sat down, tears streaming down her face.

 

"Lizzy." I said simply, making her head spin around in shock.

 

"I can't tell her. I can't." She cried, the pain evident on her face. In that moment I realised that I was special to her. She couldn't tell anyone else, yet she trusted me to get a pregnancy test for her. I sank to my knees and pulled her into a hug. She sank into me, still muttering.

 

"Listen Lizzy, you don't have to tell anyone anything." I whispered, still hugging her. It was obvious that she was in no state to go to any other classes, so I moved us slightly, making sure we were out of sight from the classrooms, and let her calm down slightly.

 

"I want to tell her, I really do." Lizzy said, suddenly sitting up, "But I can't."

 

"I understand that Lizzy, I think that you should tell her some of the story though. it's obvious that she is very suspicious." I explained, and Lizzy nodded.

 

"Does she havbe a class right now?" Lizzy asked, still sniffling.

 

"No, I don't think so." I answered, seeing where Lizzy's brain was heading. She wanted to go and see Mrs Jenkins now, before she wimped out."Do you want to go see her?" I asked, and Lizzy nodded lightly.

 

"Come on then." I said, gently hauling her up. We slowly made our way to Mrs Jenkins class, where she was sitting marking.

 

"Hey Miss." I said, half hauling Lizzy in.

 

"Hello girls, I didn't mean to upset you Lizzy, I'm sorry." She said immediately.

 

"That's okay." She replied and I nudged Lizzy gently. She moaned, but started talking. "I have been having some issues lately, mostly at home." She began.

 

"I'm glad that it isn't bullying." Mrs Jenkins interrupted.

 

"Me too, Anyway, I just have some problems that Nat has been helping me with." Lizzy said, smiling at me. I smiled back.

 

"Well, if you ever need adult advice, just let me know." Mrs Jenkins smiled, and I put my arm around Lizzy's shoulders.

 

"I will." She smiled, and then the bell rang. We headed off to lunch together.

 

The next few days passed without incident. We caught up on our work that we had missed, and Lizzy managed to avoid as much punishment as possible.

 

Finally the day came. I got up early, and made some lunch for Lizzy and myself. I had already forged a note from my mum, explaining our absence. I left the house giving a goodbye kiss to my mother, and ran to Lizzy's house. She snuck out, and met me behind a nearby tree.

 

"Lets go." I said, and Lizzy reluctantly nodded. We walked the short distance to the doctors. We were about twenty minutes early, and Lizzy sat, jiggling her knee, obviously nervous.

 

The time seemed to pass ridiculously slowly. Every time I checked my watch, convinced at had been at least ten minutes, only a minute had passed. I wish I had planned it better, so that we didn't have to wait for so long.

 

Finally the doctor came out, calling Lizzy’s name. “I can’t do this.” She muttered.

 

“Yes you can.” I replied, hauling her up. She groaned as we followed the doctor down the corridor. The doctor was a young female with long dark hair, that was neatly pulled into a bun.

 

“Come this way.” She smiled, showing us to the door. We walked in, Lizzy visibly shaking.

 

“My name is Doctor Lewis, I gather that you would like to terminate your pregnancy.” She said, leading Lizzy to the bed. Lizzy nodded.

 

“Okay, I am just going to give you a scan, to make sure that you don’t have any issues that will stop this from happening.” She explained as she set up the equipment. She scanned across Lizzy’s stomach several times, before turning to us. “Miss Sanders, it appears that you are not pregnant.” The doctor said, obviously surprised. I looked to Lizzy in shock.


	15. Chemistry... and Italian? - Lizzy

“What? That can’t be right… I… I took a test… it said I was pregnant” My voice was unsteady, breaking in places. Nat gripped my hand firmly.

 

“Home pregnancy tests can be incredibly unreliable, so it pays to get checked out by a doctor as well” The doctor explained, “I’ll give you two a moment”. He then stepped out of the room and I fell into Nat’s embrace.

 

We sat there for a while. “Do you know what we should do? We should learn Italian. Golden Lily only has 2 holds on the Italian copy” She said offhandedly, making me smile. “Learning a second language is on my bucket list” I mumbled and she grinned, “That settles it, we are learning Italian”.

 

“You wanna head back to my place for a bit?” Nat asked softly and I shook my head. “I actually, really want to go to school” I said, frowning slightly.

 

“Seriously?” Nat asked, her eyebrow raised. I nodded, “I love our school. I mean, sometimes the classes suck and some of the teachers are crap, but its like a second home for me” I smiled.

 

“School it is” Nat grinned and about half an hour we were walking back through the school gates, just as the bell rang for lunch. We went to our lockers and starting grabbing stuff. We had Chemistry last, a subject I hadn’t actually had with Nat yet.

 

Chem was my second best subject, after History. I think Nat’s was English.

 

We took our seats in Chem and listened as the teacher went through a whole chemical formula. She wrote it on the board and I tried to stifle a groan. “You alright?” Nat whispered.

 

“Fine. It’s just…” I was interrupted by the teacher, “Elizabeth Sanders, what are you talking about during my class?” She snapped and I sighed. “I was simply pointing out to Nat that you’ve mixed up the chemical formula’s, a reaction between ammonia and sodium hydroxide would give sodium chloride and water, not sodium bicarbonate and water”.

 

“That is preposterous” She snapped, before looking down at her book and looking back up on the board. Her face went red and she quickly corrected the mistake.

 

The class looked at me in shock. Not only had I corrected a teacher, but I had been right. I hid my face in my hands, quickly turning to the book work.

 

I started quickly, ignoring the rest of the teachers lecture, I knew what she was talking about. I completed the work quickly, looking up to find the teacher only just starting to explain what the task was.

 

“You understand this? How?” Nat whispered, looking at me in confusion, then down to the page of carefully drawn diagrams and chemical equations.

 

I nodded slowly, “It just works in my head, I guess” I whispered back, as the teacher finally allowed people to work, letting us talk in quiet conversations.

 

“Explain… Now” She ordered and I grinned, before taking her through the process step by step. She nodded and I saw comprehension hit.

 

“Ms Sanders, this is the second time you have not been behaving properly in this class, first speaking when I was speaking, then not doing your work” The teacher was standing over me and I sighed, pointing to my book wordlessly.

 

Her eyes skimmed over it and her jaw dropped, “Principal’s office. Now” She ordered and I looked at her startled. “Now” She snapped, when she saw I wasn’t moving.

 

I stood, grabbing my bag before heading out the door, shooting a confused look at Nat before I left. I got to the office and sat outside the Principal’s office for a while. Once I was let in, Mr Davis looked at me in confusion.

 

“Lizzy, you aren’t normally sent here for discipline” He frowned. “I actually have no idea why I was sent here” I said, shrugging before plunking down in an armchair. He laughed slightly, before leaning back.

 

“So, how’s Daisy? and the twins? Cuasing mischief as usual?” I asked, grinning at him. He smiled, “All good. The twins got the flu last month, that was horrible. You need to come round and baby-sit some more, they miss you. Plus, Daisy and I want more time off”. I grinned, before promising to do so.

 

I often baby-sat for Mr Davis’ twin seven year olds, Catherine and Caleb. They were awesome kids and the extra money helped with buying clothes and… medical stuff. Even though I got beatings when I got home, it was worth it.

 

Ms Kentucky (Chem teacher) burst into the room, frowning. I sat up straighter instantly, as did Mr Davis, the smile dropping from his face.

 

“This girl has been cheating!” She exclaimed, pointing at me. “I have not!” I yelled, before schooling my expression to that of a civilized person and trying again, “I promise you I have not.”

 

“Then how do you explain getting every single question correct with absolutely no errors in a very short space of time” She snapped. “Chemistry just works in my brain” I explained.

 

 

After a couple more explanations I was let go. I stepped out of the office, only to slam into Nat, who was pacing madly. “What the hell was that all about?!” She exclaimed, pulling me in for a hug.


	16. Drunk Drivers and Cousins - Nat

Nat's POV

"Ms Kentucky thinks that I am cheating." Lizzy explained, and comprehension dawned. Ms Kentucky hated everyone, especially people that were smarter than her. One of my old friends had been insanely good at chemistry, and Ms Kentucky had sent her to the principal at least five times a term. The memory brought happy, and depressing memories back to me.

"You okay?" Lizzy asked, noticing that I had zoned out.

"Yeah." I replied, shaking the memories away. They were in the past, and that was where they were going to stay, and I had more important things to worry about now anyway.

"As long as you're sure." Lizzy smiled, and I smiled back.

"I am, and anyway school's finished. Do you need to get home?" I asked, and Lizzy nodded her head quickly, stepping out of the waiting room. I followed after her, deciding to walk her back to her place. We walked to the place where we usually split up, but I kept walking towards her house.

"What are you doing?" Lizzy asked, as she caught up to me.

"Walking you home." I answered simply.

"You don't need to, it's fine." Lizzy protested. I stopped suddenly infront of her, cutting her off.

"I want to see that at the very least you get home safely, I want to know that. I know that I can't do anything to help you once you get inside, I know that, but I want to protect you as much as I can." I explained, and Lizzy nodded in understanding. I smiled and continued walking home with Lizzy, and we talked about trivial things, like books, and how well they are turned into movies. When we finally reached the tree that Lizzy wouldn't let me past, we said our goodbyes, and I waited for her to enter the house, before turning away reluctantly. I had to get home earlyish, because I was babysitting my cousins.

When I got home I started doing my homework, wanting to get it over and done with so I could read my book whilst I was babysitting. I finished quickly, leaving my Chem homework until I next saw Lizzy, and went downstairs.

"Hey Sweetheart." Mum called as I went into the kitchen. She was making homemade pizza for me and my cousins, because mum, dad and my aunt and uncle were going out for my aunt and uncles anniversary.

"Hey mum, where's dad?" I asked, snatching a piece of pepperoni from the chopping board.

"In our room, getting dressed." She replied, slapping my hand away.

"Well, I'm going to go say hi." I announced walking off.

"Hey Nat." Dad called from the bathroom where he was shaving.

"Hi dad." I smiled, popping my head around the door. "I just wanted to say goodnight." I said, and dad stopped his shaving to give me a light hug.

"Night, darling." He smiled, and went back to his shaving. Just as I was about to ask him about his day, the doorbell rang. I jumped up and ran to get it, letting my aunt, uncle and cousins in.

"Hey boys!" I grinned, and they groaned. They hated me, with a passion. Not that I knew why. I just left them to their own devices, and sat and read whatever book I had.

They ran into the lounge and turned on the TV. I ignored them and went back into the kitchen.

"Remember only ten minutes for the pizzas." Mum reminded me, and I nodded my head eagerly.

"I won't forget." I smiled.

"Bye sweetheart." Mum smiled, and I gave her a small hug.

"Bye!"

The adults left and I sat down to read.

 

About halfway through the evening, my youngest cousin, James came up to me suddenly.

"Matthew feels sick." He moaned, and I stood up, groaning internally. I made my way up to the bathroom, where Matthew was sitting against the toilet. He looked quite pale, and my heart lept.

"What's wrong?" I asked, and Matthew just groaned.

"I'm going to call my parents okay." I explained, and James nodded. I rushed downstairs and called mum.

"Hello Nat." Mum answered, sounding mildy frustrated.

"Matthew is feeling really sick." I explained.

"Oh great, just wait a second." Mum groaned, and I waited as she talked to Aunty Sara.

"We're coming home now, see you soon." Mum sighed, and hung up. I put the phone down, and went back upstairs.

"They'll be here soon." I called out, and sat outside the door waiting.

 

"Where are they?" I called rhetorically. It had been half an hour, and nobody had come home yet. Matthew was lying on the floor, resting.

As if my thoughts had been answered, the phone rang. I raced downstairs, and went to the phone.

"Where are you?" I asked, as soon as I picked up the phone.

"Hello, is this the Johnson household?" Someone asked.

"Yes." I replied cautiously.

"I'm afraid that there has been an accident. A drunk driver slammed into a car, and killed two people instantly. This phone was found in the car." The stranger explained. I dropped to the ground in shock.

"Okay, did the woman have dark black hair, and did the man have mousy brown hair?" I asked, not being able to accept that my parents were dead. They couldn't be.

"I'm afraid so." The cop sighed.

"Okay, t-t-thank you for letting me know." I managed, and put the phone down. They couldn't be dead, just like that. It wasn't meant to happen. I knew in that moment who I had to call. I picked up the phone and dialed a number I had learnt a few days ago.

"Hello." The voice answered, it was so familiar and helped to calm me down slightly.

"They're dead Lizzy, they're dead." I sobbed down the phone.


	17. Late Night Phone Calls -Lizzy

I said goodbye to Nat, giving her a quick hug. It felt nice to have someone who cared enough about me to walk me home.

I snuck in the front door, forgoing food for the safety of my room. Thankfully he wasn;t waiting and I could finally have some peace.

I pulled out my old crappy laptop, quickly booting it up before hiding in my cupboard, the only place I got decent internet connection. I waited for it to warm up before loading Skype, smiling when I saw Monica was online.

"Hey sis" She smiled as she answered the call, her pixelated face filling the screen in front of me. My webcam was taking longer to load and I could see her peering at the screen.

"You look good Liz, happy" She observed, smiling slightly. There was something about Mon, she could see through most of the facades I put up, much like Nat. She could also see past the bruises and cuts, to how I was really feeling.

"I made a friend" I said softly, which made her outright grin. "I'm so happy for you Liz" She grinned as a blonde bullet zipped past the screen, "Lily, say hello to your aunty Lizzy". 

"Aunty Liz" Lily exclaimed, rushing at the screen. I laughed as she tried to get as close as possible, making my screen go black.

"Back up a bit Lils, I want to see you" I laughed, and she oblidged, her two year old form filling the screen.

I talked to Mon for a bit longer, before closing down the laptop and climbing into bed. I snuggled down, grateful for a pain free evening. 

I was woken an hour later, to the loud ringtone of the home phone. Hoping Dad would be passed out by now, I stumbled down to the kitchen, picking up the phone and answering sleepily, "Hello".

There was a moment of silence, then a small voice, filled with pain sobbed out, "They're dead Lizzy, they're dead". It was Nat.

My eyes bolted open, suddenly I was wide awake. "Who's dead Nat?" I asked urgently. "My mum and Dad" She sobbed out, and it broke my heart to hear her like that, sounding so broken.

"What... how?" I asked, feeling tears come into my eyes. I had only met Nat's dad once, but he was nice to me straight away, joking around. But Nat's mum, I had a much more personal relationship with. A couple of times I'd gone round to join Nat and her mum baking. We always ended up singign along and laughing and telling stories. It made me feel like for once I had a family, one who loved me.

"C-car crash" Nat stuttered out, and I wanted nothing more then to jump up and run to her house, and pull her into my arms. But I couldn't. "Nat, listen to me. I have to go now" I said quietly, looking up from my spot on the floor, my eyes meeting his, "But no matter what, you call me if you need me".

"I will" She choked out and I tried not to cry myself. "Stay strong Nat" I whispered, before she hung up.

"YOU LITTLE WITCH" He screamed, grabbing my hair and dragging me upright, "HOW DARE YOU USE THE PHONE. THAT COST MONEY YOU KNOW". I tried to stay strong, for Nat. 

I decided then that no matter what he did to me, from this point on, I wouldn't scream, I wouldn't make a sound. For Nat. She was going through something terrible as well, and that was all that mattered.

I felt my body being flung across the room, then a sharp kick being landed between my ribs, another to my leg quickly following. "YOU WILL LISTEN WHEN I TALK TO YOU" He roared, kicking me again, twice more in the leg and once more in the stomach.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I woke the next morning on the living room floor, blood caked through my hair from the gash running across my scalp. I crawled up the stairs, every part of me aching. I managed to make it to my bedroom, pulling myself upright on the set of draws, looking at myself in the mirror there. 

I looked pale, scary pale. Like someone had dipped me into white paint. I let out a small groan, before remembering my promise from last night. 

The thought of supporting Nat kept me going, made me push myself into a hot shower, rinsing the blood fof my head. Made me apply a layer of make-up over the bruises that would be visible after I got dressed. Made me pull clothes on and pack my bag for school.

Made me hobble my way to school. I arrived a the school gates just minutes before the bell. I tried to walk normally but I couldn't stop the slight wince that came everytime I stepped, along with the slight limp I sported.

I made it to class, flopping into my seat and gritting my teeth to stop a gasp of pain. I looked around, trying to find Nat. But she was nowhere to be found.

Of course she wasn't. Why the hell would she be at school the day after her parents died? Why would she want to come to this place? Why would she want to be around a freak after such a loss?

Why would she be here?


	18. I'll Be Okay - Nat

I sneaked quietly out of the door, making sure that my aunt and uncle didn't hear me. They had banned me from going to school, but I needed to go. I needed to distract myself.

 

Once I got out of my first floor window, I started running towards the school. I was already running late, I hadn't managed to sneak away until almost morning tea.

 

I arrived at school in record time, just as the bell for morning tea rang. I dashed in, signing in late, and running towards the lockers. I got there just as Lizzy was leaving.

 

"LIZZY!" I called out, not caring if anyone heard me. Her head whipped around, and upon seeing me, a mildly worried look crossed her face. I ran to catch up with her, giving her a quick hug. She flinched slightly, so I let go quickly.

 

"What are you doing here?" She asked worriedly.

 

"I'm going to school." I said, my small smile falling off my face.

 

"Shouldn't you be with your family grieving, not here with me?" Lizzy asked, her face showing complete confusion.

 

"I can't stay at home, I can't think about anything other than them." I explained, biting my lip, trying to stop the tears falling.

 

“Oh.” Lizzy said, obviously not sure what else to say.

 

“Come on, let’s go sit down.” I suggested, wanting to explain everything.

 

“Okay.” Lizzy whispered nervously. We walked down to the seats that we normally sat at, and I sat down eagerly, Lizzy also doing so, but much more slowly. I had also noticed that she was limping slightly.

 

“What happened?” I asked, looking directly at her.

 

“Nothing.” She murmured.

 

“Don’t lie to me Lizzy.” I sighed.

 

“What does it matter to you anyway?” She mumbled, not meaning for me to hear.

 

“It matters to me, because I worry about you, I want you to be okay. I don’t want you to get hurt!” I exclaimed, and Lizzy flinched.

 

“He...he hit me again.” Lizzy whispered, and I sighed. We sat in silence for a while before it hit me.

 

“Di-Did he hit you, because I called you?” I asked my heart dropping. Lizzy nodded slowly, and I burst into tears. It was my fault, again. Why did I call her? It was such a stupid idea, and it ended so badly.

 

“I’m sorry.” I murmured, not looking up.

 

“What for?” Lizzy asked, genuinely curious.

 

“I caused you to get beaten up, for my own selfish wants. I shouldn’t have called you.” I sobbed, and Lizzy instantly moved over to comfort me.

 

“It’s fine, you needed to call me, I know that.” Lizzy comforted, lightly hugging me. This only made me cry harder.

 

“No, I should’ve called someone else. I shouldn’t have made you feel that pain. I’m so stupid!” I cried.

 

“NO!” Lizzy shouted, making me look up in shock. “You are not stupid. I am so glad you called me, and there is nothing you could’ve done to stop it. I hope that you always call me if you need anything, no matter what.” Lizzy growled, the most fierceness I had ever heard in her voice.

 

“Thank-you.” I murmured, tears still streaming down my face.

 

“It’s okay, now tell me everything that happened.” Lizzy demanded.

 

“Well mum and dad, along with my aunt and uncle, were coming home, because my older cousin Matthew was complaining he was sick. A dr-“ I halted, biting back even more tears.

 

“Take your time.” Lizzy reassured. I gathered myself together as much as I could, and continued.

 

“A drunk driver slammed into them, killing them both instantly, my aunt and uncle were just behind them.” I explained, and Lizzy gasped in complete shock.

 

“I can’t believe it.” Lizzy muttered.

 

“Neither can I, it doesn’t feel real.” I said, shaking slightly. My tears had stopped thankfully.

 

All of a sudden the bell rang, both Lizzy and I had completely lost track of time.

 

“Are you okay to go to class?” I asked Lizzy, and she nodded.

 

“Are you though?” She asked back.

 

“Yeah.” I sighed, “I’ll be okay.”


	19. Pick Her Up - Lizzy

It's been a week. A week since that night, since that hysterical phone call. And things keep getting worse. Nat's aunt and uncle wanted her to move to Otago with them, where they lived. So far she was refusing, as there would be no point, she would be returning at the beginning of next year to start at the University Of Auckland, where we had both been accepted to do a Bachelor of Arts in History. We had a month until our final exams, then we would graduate, be let loose on the world. But there was something else we had to do first...

The funeral was three days ago, just four days after their death. I went to support Nat, and to say goodbye.

 

It was a great funeral. It sounds weird to say that. But the day before had been the reading of their will. It was a simple will, leaving some money to their neices and nephews, a little bit to Nat's mother's sister, and then everything else went into a trust fund for Nat, which she would get when she turned eighteen, which was in just over a months time. 

She got the house, most of the money, the two cars. She also got the flat that her parents rented, near Auckland University. It currently had two tennants, who had handed in their notice, they were graduating and returning to their hometown of Wellington at the end of the year.

And then there was a clause at the end, stating, "We would also like to state that we wish our funeral to be a celebratuon of our lives, not a mourning of our death. So, we would like everyone to wear purple, a colour we are both fond of and we know ou daughter loves". After the lawyer read that out, Nat burst into tears, and took over an hour to calm down. 

Hours later the, it feels weird to call them invites, but that's what they were really. 

They were cremated in the morning, with just Nat and I present, as per Nat's wishes. Her parents wished to be scattered where they met, on the Auckland Domain.

It's quite a romantic story actually. Nat's mum was biking to the Winter Gardens, she was doing a paper on the plants growing there, while her dad was riding to do some research at the Auckland War Memorial Museum library. And well, they crashed into each other. Nat's mum's bike was completely ruined but somehow she came out of the encounter with a date.

And the rest is history.

After the cremation, Nat and I walked to the Domain, which took just over an hour, but she wanted to walk, wanted her parents last journey to be a meaningful one, and for her that meant she didn't take a car, because her parents hated cars.

We scattered them on the hill, with the Museum behind us and the Wintergardens in front of us. It was quite a serene moment, standing there and watching the ashes float along the breeze.

I held Nat in my arms, squeezing her gently as she watched, until the last ashes fluttered from sight. She didn't cry. She was so strong, I was so proud of her.

We walked down the hill in silence and I never felt more at one with a person. I'd only known Nat for a matter of months, but she felt like a sister to me. I'd never felt closer to a single person. It was like she could see my soul and I could see hers and no matter what we saw, we would always be there.

 

The funeral began at 12 and included a lunch. There wasn't many people there, just a few close friends and family. Nat and I spent a while looking at dresses, each choosing a purple dress as per her parents wishes. She was glad that the people who came also wore purple, even if it was just in splashes, like a scarf or tie. But no one wore black, and I knew she was thankful for that.

Nat and I went to heart with the purple, both of us in purple shoes, dresses and earrings. I also wore a purple jacket, to cover up my cuts and bruises. 

It started with the lunch, everyone eating and talking. After the food was finished, the room went silent and Nat stood up.

She began to tell stories of her parents, stories she knew and stories she'd been told. We moved into a living area, piling onto couches as people told stories and laughed and cried. It was a sad occasion and two amazing people were dead, but at the same time it was a happy occasion, because we were celebrating their lives together.

Soon it was over and it was just Nat and I, packing up. I stayed with Nat over night, keeping her company and comforting her. It was hard for her to stay in that house, her house, full of memories of her parents. 

 

And now I guided Nat through St Lukes mall, still dressed in our uniforms. I had a plan to help cheer Nat up, she had been down, understandably.

I covered her eyes with my hands, leading her into a store I had never visited before, a store I didn't even know exsited until yesterday. I had snuck onto my Dad's computer, which meant that I was walking with a solid limp, but it was worth it. 

The rows of ball dresses surrounded us as I took my hands off Nat's eyes. Her eyes widened and she shook her head, "Lizzy, no" I laughed slightly. "You have no choice, I've already bought the tickets. We are going to the ball"


	20. The Ball - Nat

"Why?" I asked, turning to face Lizzy, the shock evident on my face.

"To cheer you up." Lizzy smiled, and I pulled her in for a massive hug.

"Thank you so so much." I whispered into her hair, blinking back tears. These last few days had been really hard, and Lizzy had been my rock throughout it all. She had always been there, ready if I needed to talk, or just wanted a hug.

"It's no problem." She replied, her arms wrapped firmly around me. We stood there for a few seconds, just enjoying each others company, before Lizzy pulled away. "Now let's go shopping." She grinned, and let a small smile slip onto my face. It was one of the only times I had truly smiled since the funeral, and it meant a lot that Lizzy managed to do that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We walked around the store for hours, looking at every dress that was there.

"I reckon this would suit you." I called across the rack, holding up a long silver dress. It looked like that it would suit Lizzy down to a tea.

"Its gorgeous," She said, walking around the rack "And this one is perfect for you." She smiled, holding up an identical dress, execpt it was a bright red.

"Let's try them on then." I said, grabbing the red one, and handing the silver dress to Lizzy.

We went to the changing rooms, each selecting a different changing room, for obvious reasons. I quickly changed, feeling the smooth fabric fall about my skin. It was perfect. I loved the colour, and the style. I stepped out of the changing room, waiting for Lizzy. I heard a small sigh from Lizzy's door.

"Liz?" I asked through the door.

"It doesn't look nice." She sighed.

"Lemme see." I called through, leaning against the door.

"I don't want to." She whispered, and I could tell she was close to tears.

"Lizzy, please just let me see." I whispered through the door. Suddenly the door opened. There was Lizzy. The dress looked perfect, apart from the fact that you could see bruises, on her shoulder. Some fresh, and some yellowing.

"It's perfect." I said, awestruck.

"No, it isn't." She said, tears leaking out of the corner of her eye.

"I can fix the visible stuff. I have makeup," I smiled, giving her a gentle hug. "The dress is perfect. You look gorgeous." I said, stepping back to take in her full figure. The dress wrapped around her, highlighting her slim features, without showing her ribs, or how skinny she actually was. She looked stunning.

"Can you really?" Lizzy asked quietly, a small glimmer of hope spreading across her face.

"Of course." I smiled, turning her so that she was facing the mirror. "Look how pretty you are." I smiled, standing just behind her.

"Thank you." Lizzy replied, going back to her changing room, and I headed back to mine. We both got changed quickly, and went out to buy our dresses.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Perfect." I announced, putting the finishing touches on Lizzy's shoulders. There was nothing visible now.

"Thank you so much." Lizzy grinned, giving me a quick hug. If you didn't know her, you would never be able to tell what her father did to her. I was actually quite proud of my work. 

"Let's go. We're gonna be late otherwise." I said, standing up, and pulling my trainers on. We had decided to walk, I couldn't stand going in a car, not after what happened. We were going to leave our trainers in our lockers and put our fancy shoes on when we got to school.

I grabbed my keys, and my phone, and put them in my clutch. It was a gorgeous silver, matching Lizzy's dress. But that wasn't the only reason I had it. It was a family heirloom, and my mum had specifically put it in her will. It felt right to use it on a night like tonight.

I locked the door behind us, and we set off towards school.

When we got to school we quickly stepped into the main hallway, changing our shoes.

"You ready?" I asked, gripping Lizzy's hand.

"Of course." She smiled, and we stepped into the hall.

"You both look nice." I heard someone say, and I flipped my head around. It was Mrs Jenkins.

"Thanks." Lizzy and I said in sync. I couldn't help but smile. Mrs Jenkins knew about what had happened to my parents, my aunt and uncle insisted on telling the school, but she was the only one of my teachers who realised that I wanted to just get on my life, and try to forget about it. All my other teachers were being super nice, and saying that I didn't have to do the work, and how brave I was for coming back so soon. It was really starting to get on my nerves.

"You really are the best teacher." I commented, and Mrs Jenkins smiled broadly.

"Thank you Nat." She said. "I must go and be a chaperone though." She added, and wandered off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We spent the rest of the night dancing and talking, generally having a great time. It was a welcome distraction for both of us, I knew that Lizzy was worried about going back home. She had stayed away for several days now, helping to keep me company at night. She had only been home one time, because she needed to grab something. I suspected that was when she had sorted everything to do with the ball, and also why she had fresh bruises on her shoulders, and other parts of her body.

Sadly the ball ended all too soon. I sighed, knowing that Lizzy was going home tonight. I just hoped she would be okay.

"See you at the library." Lizzy smiled as we parted ways.


	21. Stabbed - Nat + Lizzy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A note on this chapter. It is written in paragraphs, so elephants_are_cool wrote one, then I wrote one and so on... So the ones in bold are written by me - BlackParadise (Lizzy) and those in italics are written by - elephants_are_cool (Nat)

A/N A note on this chapter. It is written in paragraphs, so elephants_are_cool wrote one, then I wrote one and so on... So the ones in bold are written by me  **\- BlackParadise (Lizzy)** and those in italics are written by -  _elephants_are_cool (Nat)_

**I lay on the floor of my bedroom, a tear sliding down my cheek. It had been bad, really bad. It was like my father had finally figured out that I could leave. I could leave anytime I wanted and in two weeks time there was literally nothing he could do to stop me. I would turn eighteen. And he would have no hold over me. I felt a gripping in my hair and I screamed, as he pulled my out of my room and threw me down the stairs. My head hit the wall and I felt my wrist snap. But still darkness didn't come.**

 

_I sat anxiously waiting outside the library. Lizzy had been meant to meet me here half an hour ago. We were going to start italian tonight, but she hadn't turned up. I was worried that her father had got at her. I finally decided to go back home and call her, just to make sure._

 

**"You think you can leave huh?" He screamed, kicking me hard in the stomach, laughing manically as he undid his belt. I tried to crawl away, to get myself away from the pain. But he just grabbed me, throwing my light body easily into the living room wall. I slid down, leaving a trail of blood behind me.**

 

_I called Lizzy's house, and her father picked up. "WHAT?" He screeched down the phone, and I heard a quiet sob from somewhere in the house. I hung up quickly, Lizzy was hurt, badly. I ran out the door, starting towards Lizzy's place, before realising that it would take too long. I would have to take the car. I sighed deeply, and went back inside, grabbing the keys. It would take everything I had to drive the stupid thing, but I had to. I had already lost two people I loved, I couldn't lose another._

 

**"That was your little b***h friend" He snarled, returning from the kitchen, knife in his hand. I shrunk away, holding the scraps of what was left of my clothing to me, glad I had taken my ball dress off and hidden it in my cupboard.**

 

_I drove as fast as I dared, watching the road carefully. I arrived quickly, and jumped out of the car. As I approached the door, I heard a piercing scream. "LIZZY!" I screamed, shoving the door open. I had never been inside before. It was filthy and dark. I turned towards the direction of the scream, and saw Lizzy on the floor, with her father leaning over her. He had a blood stained knife in his hand, and I saw the blood stain spreading across the tatters that were Lizzy's clothes._

 

  **He thrust the knife down again, piercing my stomach. I scream again and I heard a yell. I managed to turn my head, to see Nat standing there. I allowed myself a split second of hope, she was going to save me. But then my father let out a roar and leapt up, chasing after her with the knife, still covered in my blood. She ran into the kitchen and I heard a scream, then a massive crash and silence. I didn't know if this was because Nat was dead, or she won the fight or if it was simply my body getting up. But what I did know was that my vision was fading, ever so slowly, to black.**

 

_I ran into the kitchen as Lizzy's father chased me, the knife waving around wildly. I grabbed a heavy frying pan, hoping more than anything that it would be enough. If it wasn't he would kill me and Lizzy, and he would make it brutal. He rounded the corner, grinning evilly. "You little witch." He snarled, and I stepped back, backing into the oven. He moved closer, and I moved the pan, raising it above my head. I brought it down on his head hard, and he collapsed, not before managing to cut my arm. I ingored that however, and I ran out to the living room, seeing her on the floor, she had curled up in a ball, and I heard a small whimper._

 

**"Lizzy, talk to me, Lizzy" Nat said urgently. I let another small spark of hope flare up in me, she was alive. She would save me. "Hurts" I whispered, and I felt another sharp pain. I flinched away, Nat was hurting me. "Lizzy, stay still, I'm trying to stop the bleeding" She ordered, before letting out a scream, "SOMEBODY HELP, ANYBODY, PLEASE"**

 

_"Come on Lizzy, I know it hurts, just let me help." I said desperately. She had shied away every time I tried to help, and I could tell she was terrified of me. I moved slightly, meaning that I could hold her still, and pressed my jumper against the wound. She cried out, but I stayed firm, making sure that she didn't move, all the time blinking back tears._

 

**"PLEASE" She cried, and I could feel her tears hitting my face. I felt the pain starting to fade. "S' okay Nat, doesn't hurt anymore" I murmured, my eyes slowly closing. "Lizzy, keep your eyes open, you're going into shock, Lizzy, keep your eyes open" She said desperately. I began to fade, everything going black. Just before I blacked out, I heard more voices, a woman and a man.**

 

_"LIZZY!" I yelled hysterically, as she faded out. "What's wrong?" Someone asked, and I jumped. Two people were behind me, a man and a woman. They seemed friendly. "She was stabbed by her father." I hiccuped. "Call an ambulance, please." I begged, and I went back to Lizzy. "Please Lizzy, please just stay awake, you can do it." I begged, now sobbing._

 

**I let out a garbled series of sounds, trying to hang on for Nat. It was hard, and painful. But I couldn't hurt her like that. "Ma'am, we need you to move away" I heard a voice say, then there was a yell as Nat shifted slightly, putting me in the view of the doorway.**

 

_"Oh my goodness." One of the paramedics said, making me sob even harder. I moved away, and she knelt next to Lizzy. "What happened?" She asked, and I explained, holding back sobs. Lizzy was fading in and out, and the paramedics were working on her, trying to stabilise her._

 

**I wrenched my eyes open as my body was lifted, and placed on a smooth surface. I blinked and a face appeared above me. It was a man. I couldn't help it, I screamed, trying to pull myself away. "No, don't hurt me, please, I'm sorry, don't hurt me please" I begged**

 

_"Lizzy." I called, running after the stretcher. She was panicking, and I knew that I was the only one she trusted. By the time we got to the ambulance, where I could get close to her again she was hysterical, crying, and trying to curl into the foetal position. "Let me talk to her." I said, sounding surprisingly calm._

 

**I saw movement and then Nat was there and I relaxed slightly. If Nat was here it was safe. "Nat, no men, please no men" I whispered, my voice breaking as my vision grew dim again, 'Don't let them hurt me" My voice was almost inaudible as I blacked out again**

 

_"I won't." I said, gripping her hand. "I promise you'll be okay." I whispered, willing her to come back. I knew that it caused her a great amount of pain, but I also knew it was good for her to stay awake._

 

**I tuned back in, to see Nat facing away from me, talking to a person I assumed was a paramedic, "She can't have men near her right now. The p-person who did this was her father" Nat said softly, gripping my hand. "Nat" I whispered, and she turned back to me, I could see the worry written into her face, "Hurts"**

 

_"I know." I wished I could take the pain away, even if it meant that I would be the one in pain. I couldn't stand to see Lizzy in so much pain, straddling the line between life and death._

 

**"Nat, you're the best person I've ever met. I love you like a sister" I whispered, it was so much harder to get words out. My body shook and I gripped her hand, "Stay strong". And with that I blanked out, my body falling limp as my hand slipped out of her grasp, falling onto the stretcher and not moving.**

 

_"NO LIZZY!" I yelled, knowing that was gone. She wasn't going to fade back in. I sat back, letting the paramedics do their work, and for the first time, I noticed the sharp pain in my arm. I lifted it up, and saw a long, medium depth cut. "Damnit." I muttered, gathering the attention from a paramedic. "What's wrong?" She asked._

 

**The darkness was welcoming, a relief from the pain, from the torment of the last few hours. It was blissful, sweet. But it wasn't the comfort of Nat. Of her home, her warmth. She was what held me to this planet, to this world. So I floated in the blackness, not moving forward, but holding back from the pain, from moving back.**

 

_"Just a nick on my arm." I said, watching Lizzy carefully. "Let me see." She said firmly, and I held my arm up. "Oh dear, this needs stitches." She commented._

 

**The blackness began to fade. I heard a commotion, faintly. The sound of Nat's voice. My name. A siren. Banging. Pain. Light. Bright. Too bright. Pain. Voices. Loud. Too many. Men. Men. Pain. Must run. Men.**

 

_I noticed Lizzy starting to shake as we walked into the hospital. "Get her to resuss quick!" Someone yelled, and I gasped, breaking away from the woman helping me. I lost it. "Excuse me miss." Someone called after me, but I ignored them. I had to make sure Lizzy was okay. "MISS!" Someone yelled as they grabbed me, and pulled me back, despite my angry protests._

 

**Men. Screaming. Nat. Hold. On. "It's the men's voices" I heard her scream, "Get rid of the men". I tried my best to smile. Nat was protecting me. The men's voices faded, replaced by women's.**

 

_"Thank you." I sighed as Lizzy was led off to get treated. "Come on, lets get that cut cleaned up." A nurse said, and I smiled weakly. I sat on a hospital bed, and I winced every time she cleaned it._

 

**I pulled my eyes open, taking in the room around me. The white walls, the tiled floor. Hospital. I tried to sit up, but hands reached out and pushed me down. It was Nat, a large bandage covering her arm but otherwise un-hurt. "You need to stay laying down Lizzy" She said gently, fluffing my pillows slightly, "Your body is still recovering"**

_"What?" Lizzy asked, mildly confused. I stood up, so that she could see me. "You have a serious concussion, broken wrist, and stitches everywhere. Don't sit up." I said, smiling at her. I was so glad that she was awake. I hadn't moved from her bedside, I was still in the bloodstained clothing._

 

**"How long...?" I trailed off but she got the idea, "About eighteen hours, it was touch and go for a while" She smiled and brushed a piece of hair off my head, "Your heart stopped four times in surgery, I thought you'd given up on me". "Never" I murmured.**

 

_"I'm so glad you're gonna be okay." I smiled, tears running down my cheeks, and I was. Thos touch and go moments were terrifying. I didn't want to lose her, especially after losing my parents. She was the only person I had left, and I couldn't stand it if she died._

 

**"I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me" I smiled, before my face dropped, "What happened to...?" I trailed off once more, but once again nat figured out what I meant. "He's being held in Mt Eden prison, denied bail until his trial early next year"**

 

_"Thank god." Lizzy said, and I gave her the gentlest hug I have ever given. "You're safe now." I said._

 

**"Thank you, without your help, I'd be d-dead" I whispered, tears falling down my cheeks.**

 

_"No you wouldn't." I said, sitting back down next to her._

 

**"Nat, I would. He would have killed me" I said seriously. I reached a hand up and brushed away my tears, feeling weak for crying.**

 

_"Maybe so. But I think if you had a chance like I did, you would've been okay. It isn't your fault that I had the luck to find a frying pan." I grinned._

 

**I smiled slightly but froze, seeing a figure in the doorway. It was a man, in his late twenties. He was obviously a doctor and most of my brain knew he wouldn't hurt me, but I still shrunk back against the bed in terror.**

 

_"Liz, it's okay, he isn't going to hurt you." I said, moving towards her, and perching on her bed. "Don't let him touch me." Lizzy said, whimpering. "I promise that he won't hurt you." I said, moving her gently so I could hug her. She gripped on to me tightly._

 

**The doctor moved closer, grabbing the chart from the end of my bed before stepping back, seeing my distress. "Miss Sanders, I'm afraid we need to perform some checks on you, may I please take your blood pressure?" I shook my head frantically, trying to move away from him.**

 

_"Lizzy, I know he won't hurt you, and I'll be there to protect you." I said, holding her still. I knew that she needed to let men be near her, it was the only way to help her get over it. I hated to see her scared though._

 

**I shook my head wildly and the doctor smiled, "Would you prefer me to get Dr Rochards, she's a woman" he said softly and I nodded.**

 

_"Lizzy, you'll be okay. I promise." I said, comforting her. She was still shaking slightly, and I could see the terror in her eyes. "You'll never get hurt again." I said, and I meant it one hundred percent. She would never get hurt if I could possibly help it. I cared about her too much._

 

**Dr Rochards walked in and smiled at me, before walking over, "Hello Miss Sanders, how are you feeling?" She asked nicely, grabbing the blood pressure cuff. "Like I got hit by a bus" I laughed, before realizing that hurt and shutting up. She began to take my blood pressure and a few seconds alter her smile became forced, "Miss Sanders, the police need to get a statement from you and Miss Johnson about your injuries, would you mind seeing them?". I nodded and she started to walk out, "Wait" I called after her, "Woman officers... please?"**

 

_"Of course." Dr Rochards smiled, and we sat anxiously waiting. I didn't know what was going to happen. Would they trust two seveteen year olds? And what about the fact that I had injured Lizzys father? All of this was swirling around my head, but I hoped none of it showed. I didn't need Lizzy worrying about me. She already had way too much to worry about._

 

**Two police officers appeared in the doorway, both female. They smiled at me and Nat before taking seats next to my bed. "Ms Sanders, we just need to take a basic statement at this point, giving us a overview of what occured, is that alright?" I nodded slowly and she smiled, grabbing out a tape recorder.**


	22. I'm Free - Lizzy

"I got home from my school ball, Mt Albert Grammar School's Graduation ball and snuck up to my bedroom. I took off my dress and hid it in my closet, and then got changed into my pajama's. At this point it was around 11 o'clock. I climbed into bed and read a bit of a Italian textbook I borrowed from the library. After about fifteen minutes I heard the front door open and the sounds of someone, my father, throwinga glass against the wall. I tried to hide in my room but he found me and..." I paused, taking a deep breathe.

"Take your time Ma'am, there's no rush" One of the officers said warmly and Nat squeezed my hand.

"He punched me in the stomach, then kicked me a few times. Then he-he-he..." My voice trailed off and I saw Nat freeze. She knew what I meant. I tried again to force the words out but I couldn't.

I took another moment, calming myself, knowing that everything I said now would stop him from hurting me again. Then, as quick as I could, I spat the words out, "He raped me".

The officers faces showed shock for only a moment, before they schooled their expressions. One of them took a breath before asking softly, "Is this the first time he's sexually assaulted you?". 

I shook my head, "He's being doing it almost daily for almost three years" I whispered, looking down at my hands in shame, even though I knew it wasn't my fault, I still felt ashamed.

They just nodded and then one of them, Officer James according to her nametag, gestured for me to continue. 

"After he was... done, he kicked me a few more times, once in the head, which made me black out. When I woke up it was morning and he dragged me around by my hair, before throwing me down the stairs and into a wall. He then did... that... again, before walking into the kitchen. I tried to crawl away but he caught my leg and pulled me back. It was then I saw the knife in my hand. He stabbed me twice in the stomach and I screamed. The door burst open, as he stabbed me again. Nat yelled something and he got up, chasing after her with a knife." I took another breath, squeezing Nat's hand.

She was the reason I was alive right now. If she hadn't burst through that door and then knocked out my father with a frying pan, I would be dead. I owed my life to her.

"After that things got patchy, I could remember a loud noise. Then Nat was there. Then there was other people and paramedics and I was scared and then Nat was there and it hurt. And then I passed out and woke up here" I finished quietly.

"Does your statement match up to that?" Officer Matthews asked Na and she nodded, "After he chased me, I knocked him out with a frying pan" She added, smirking slightly at the thought.

The officers left soon after that, after clearing up a few more questions.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I leaned heavily on the back of the wheelchair, stiff after spending a week laying flat in bed, and then another week only being allowed to sit up.

Nat stopped pushing me and carefully pulled the car door open, before helping me into the backseat. We were heading to the flat, which the tenants had vacated early. Nat couldn't go back to her house at the moment, it was too hard.

Today was my eighteenth birthday. I was officially an adult. I could vote. I could legally drink alcohol.

The flat was close to the hospital and as Nat helped me out I couldn't help breathing in the fresh air and grinning. "I'm free" I grinned, leaning on my crutches and grinning, grinning madly. 

"I'M FREE" I yelled, and Nat laughed slightly. "I'm eighteen years old and I'M FREE".

After standing there for a little while, enjoying the sun on my face and the breeze in my hair and laughing with Nat, we headed inside. 

Nat's cousin had got some friends to do up the flat, he'd decided it wasn't fit for us, our personalities. It was quite a small flat, squeezed into a small space over two floors. There was a small living room, kitchen and bathroom on the bottom floor, with a spiral staircase in the corner of the living room, which led up to the two bedrooms, a small study. Each of the bedrooms had a en suite bathroom as well.

We went to the study first. Joseph and his friends had been thorough, going to my house and getting all my books, which were on shelves on the walls. All of Nat's books were here as well, and they'd obviously gone through both new and used bookstores, leaving us with enough books to last a century.

There was a long couch in the room and nothing else. The bookshelves covered all four walls, apart from a small window up near the ceiling. Even the back of the door had shelves on it.

Nats bedroom was done in blue and green, with big colourful lanterns hanging from the ceiling and a picture of her parents on the bedside table. She had the fluffiest rug on her floor, which I would have been content to sleep on.

My bedroom was brown and pink, with the largest bed I had ever seen and the same lanterns hanging from the ceiling. The best part was the glow in the dark stars in the room, carefully arranged in the shapes of real consellations.

Nat helped me into bed, as I was exhausted from walking around the house. "Nat" I murmured, already near sleep. 

"Yea Liz?" She smiled, coming back to my side. "This feels like home" I murmured, reaching out and squeezing her hand gently, "I love it".


	23. Graduation - Nat

The next month passed in a breeze. Lizzy was recovering well, although she still wouldn't let any man near her. I knew that it would come with time though, and she trusted Joseph enough to let him be in the same room as her. He came over quite often, making sure that we were okay, and that we had everything we needed, and I was so grateful for that.

"YOU COMING?" Lizzy yelled up the stairs, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"YEP!" I shouted back, tying my shoelaces, and bounding down the stairs. Today was graduation, which I was excited about, but also apprehensive. I had so many great memories from my years at Mt Albert Grammar, and I didn't want to let some of them go. I had met my best friend of all time there, and lost some not very nice friends. I had also lived through the hardest time of my life there, putting one foot after the other, trying to get through the day in one piece. Lizzy had helped, when she was allowed to go back to school, but there were a few weeks, when she wasn't there, and I barely managed it. I still wasn't managing it very well. I never cried, and to the outside eye, it probably seemed that I was coping pretty well, but inside my brain, it was like a tornado had ripped through, destroying all sense of order and control. Lizzy didn't know, but that was because I couldn't bear to tell her. It was my responsibility to help her get better, not burden her with my struggles.

"We're gonna be late at this rate." She grinned, flicking a speck of food off my robes. I still wasn't up to driving, meaning that we had to catch the bus to get to school. Lizzy insisted that she didn't mind, but I suspect that she would prefer to go by car. Luckily next year we would only have to walk a few blocks to get to University. We had both gotten into Auckland, and had decided that we would stay in our home town.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey Girls." Mrs Jenkins smiled, as we walked up to her.

"Hey miss." We grinned broadly, pulling her in for a group hug.

"Thanks for being such a good teacher." Lizzy whispered, and Mrs Jenkins pulled out gently, smiling softly.

"Thank you for being such good pupils." She replied simply, walking off to sort out something.

"Why is she so good?" I asked Lizzy, as we walked up to the front of the hall, to the seats for people getting course endorsment with excellence.

"Cause she is." Lizzy grinned. We took our place on the hard uncomfortable seats, waiting for our principal to go up on stage. There were only a small handful getting course endorsment with excellence, it was notoriously hard to get.

"You do realise that if I hadn't had you in chem, I wouldn't be sitting here right now, right?" I whispered to Lizzy, making her grin softly.

"Shh." She replied as our principal, Mr Watkins walked up on stage, his principals robe flowing behind him.

"I would like to welcome, parents, friends, and students to the 2012 senior graduation." Mr Watkins started, and every student stopped listening. He was a professional at long, winded, and deadly boring speeches, made all the more horrible by the horrible seats that we had to sit on. They were the same ones from the year that the school was opened, 1922, and they were wooden church pew like. This meant that everyone constantly fidgeted, trying to get comfortable.

Eventually the speech finished, and they started awarding the prizes. Both Lizzy and I were going up for History prizes, having scored the two highest marks in the country in the end of year exams. Lizzy was also going up for a prize in chemistry, much to the annoyance of Mrs Kentucky, who was still convinced that Lizzy cheated, despite the fact she had absolutely no evidence, and I was getting a prize in English for my essay on To Kill A Mockingbird.

"Could Miss Sanders and Miss Johnson please make their way onto stage?" Mrs Jenkins asked, she was presenting our awards. I gripped Lizzy's hand quickly, before standing up.

"Now or never." Lizzy grinned, and we made our way up on stage.

"These two girls have done fantastically well. They received the two highest scores on the History end of year exam, and have also received excellence endorsement not only in 4 out of 5 subjects, but in the entire course. Please applaud these hardworking, intelligent girls as they receive their awards." Mrs Jenkins smiled at us as she went up to the principal, shaking hands with him as he shook our hands, and handed us our certificates. Everyone applauded loudly, and I saw Lizzy grinning happily. It was nice that she was getting good attention for once in her life, and I gave her hand a happy sqeeze as we sat down again.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The rest of the ceremony passed slowly, and I ended up daydreaming about chopping up the chairs with a chainsaw. I noticed that Lizzy was giving me a weird look and I just grinned at her.

When the ceremony finally finished, Lizzy and I ran out of the hall, literally.

"We're finally done here!" I yelled, skipping around the carpark outside the hall. It was empty as everyone else had left this morning.

"I KNOW RIGHT!" Lizzy replied, joining me in our skip. People gave us weird looks, but we shook them off.

"If only you would be that active in P.E." Our P.E teacher sighed as she walked past us.

"SORRY MISS!" I yelled after her, as she walked off, sighing.

"I can't believe we're finally done." I said, the shock truly hitting me. I was never coming back.


	24. Celebrate - Lizzy

I skipped around with Nat, as much as I could with the thick bandage across my leg. The stitches were out, which I was thankful for, they were such a pain.

"We're officially high school graduates!" I yelled, pulling Nat in for a massive hug. "What shall we do to celebrate old chap?" I asked poshly, holding out my arm for her to link hers with.

"I don't know old bean, what shall we do?" She laughed back and I grinned, "I was thinking some good old kiwi ice cream at the park, I would suggest the beach but sand in the bandages".

She nodded and we began walking towards the domain, arms still linked together.

"You realize we are never going to wear this uniform again right?" I asked quietly, as we approached Albert Park. Our apartment was about a twenty minute walk from where we were, while the Uni was ten minutes from our apartment and Giapo Gelato was five minutes from our apartment and five minutes from beautiful Albert Park.

We walked into Giapo's, getting our normal orders. Mango gelato for Nat and blackcurrant for me. Once we had our little tubs of frozen deliciousness we made the short walk to the park, sitting on top of the monkey bars. 

"No more school. No more uniform" I whispered, taking a lick of my gelato. "I know, it feels so bizarre, two months of holidays then we start Uni" She murmured.

"So, its your birthday tomorrow" I said slyly, looking at her out of the corner of my eye.

She nodded, "But I don't want anything big, we didn't celebrate your birthday, so we shouldn't celebrate mine" She said determindedly and I sighed.

"I was thinking we could go out for dinner, just us two. It could be like a graduation slash eighteenth birthday part for both of us" I smiled at her, "You only turn eighteen once".

She nodded, finishing her ice cream off and I smiled, "I think I know the perfect dress for you to wear" I said quickly, climbing down and waiting impatiently for her to join me.

 

After our dresses were picked, I went ot my jewellery box, opening the lid slowly and lifting out a light blue pair of earrings.

I took a deep breathe before thrusting my hand towards Nat. “Wear these. They’ll look good with your dress” I said, handing her the earrings. “They’re beautiful, where did you get them?” She gasped. “My mum left them behind when she ran, I hid her jewellery box from Dad, so he wouldn’t sell it for booze” I whispered.

"They look amazing, how old are they?" She asked, fingering the earrings in her hand. "Around the 1850's, been in my family since. I want you to have them" I said gently.

"Lizzy, I can't accept these" She started to say and I cut her off, "Nat, I want you to have these, consider them an eighteenth birthday present"

 

I fingered my dress nervously, checking once again that it covered the bandages as we stepped inside the restaurant. "Happy birthday Nat" I whispered, leaning forward as we sat down.

 

The dinner passed quickly, the food was magnificent and everything was perfect. It was the perfect birthday/graduation party.

 

 

 

 

 

"I hope to see everyone back for their second year!" Professor Marythought exclaimed, "Don't forget to hand in your term papers before you leave"

Nat and I made our way to the front, handing in our term papers before grinning at each other. One year of Uni down, three to go.

"Lizzy" I heard a voice call out from behind me, a voice that made me flinch. Nat took my arm, gently steering me toward the car. She still didn't like to drive, so I mostly drove us around.

"Lizzy please, let me explain" I heard him yell again, before a hand clapped down on my shoulder, pulling me around to face him.

I flinched, letting out a small squeal. Nat's face went red as she shoved herself between us, "Keep your filthy hands off her" She snapped, pushing him away.

"Lizzy, please, I'm sorry" He pleaded and I felt a tear slip down my face. "Sorry. That's all you have to say?" Nat asked incredulously, "She trusted you and you hit her" Her voice was getting angrier and she took my arm, gently pulling me away, "Let's go Lizzy".

We drove home in silence, stopping to let a group of five boys cross the road before parking in front of our building. I looked over at Nat, seeing her eyes starting to glaze over. "Nat, stay with me please, don't tune out again" I begged, opening my door and rushing to her side.

I slung her arm over my shoulder, half carrying her to the door, pushing it open and stumbling towards the elevator. I pressed the button and let out a groan, elevator was broken again.

I started the long trip up the stairs. I was about a quarter of the way when a guy came and gently lifted Nat into his arms, carrying her upstairs.

"Ummm, who are you?" I asked hurridely, running after him.

"Liam, Liam Payne, thought you could use some help" He smiled, stopping outside our apartment and placing her on her feet before disappearing down the stairs.

I watched in confusion, checking Nat for her wallet and phone, finding them both there and confusion covering my face. I shrugged it off, Nat needed my help right now.

"Let's get you some dinner" I said softly, helping her to the couch, confusion filling my mind about the weird meeting in the stairs.

Nat tuned in about an hour later, just as I finished making dinner. I had tried to make something fancy and had sort of succeded. I just hoped Nat wouldn't notice the slightly darker brown bits.

After dinner we mucked around in the living room, Nat keeping me occupied.

I was on iTunes, trying to find some new music, my old playlist was getting a tad boring. I found this band I liked the sound of, The Script, but as I clicked buy, my mouse slipped and I ended up buying another album, by this band called One Direction.

"Bugger" I muttered, before sighing and clicking play on the album. A song called 'I Would' began to play and I pulled Nat to her feet dancing around with her. I ended up buying their first album later that night, and doing a little bi of research to find out what they looked like. They looked similar, but I couldn't pinpoint why...

We went to bed around 11pm, hardcore, I know. I washed my face and bushed my teeth, my gaze falling on the second draw down. My hand almostb subconsiously reached for I but I pulled back. I had to resist.

I woke up the next morning with a grin on my face, we were on holiday, for two months. I jumped out of bed, heading downstairs to make us hash browns for breakfast.

It was then I discovered something terrible... We had no potatoes. I ran out of the kitchen, closing th door behind me. "NAT" I screamed, running up the stairs. "WHAT" She screamed back. "WHERE ARE THE POTATOES?"...


	25. The End, Or The Beginning... Depends On How You Look At It - Nat

Liam's POV

 

I waved my thanks as a car let us cross the road. We were heading back to the hotel after going shopping. Thankfully we hadn't been recognised, we had gone to a small store run by two elderly people. I think they were slightly suspicious of us, probably cause Harry made helicopter noises the entire way around.

 

We were heading down the deserted street, when I dropped my bag. I turned to pick it up, and saw two girls get out of the car that had let us pass. I noticed that one girl, she had long blonde hair, and was of a slim build, was trying to hold up the other. The other girl with long, sleek black hair, seemed to be completely out of it. I watched carefully as they made their way into the hotel, and decided to follow them, just to make sure they were okay.

 

As I got inside, I saw the blonde girl sigh, and start making her way up the stairs, she seemed to be struggling under the weight of the other girl.

 

I ran up the stairs, catching up to them, and scooping the other girl up, making sure that she was secure in my arms before continuing up the stairs. The first girl hurried to catch up with me.

 

Ummm, who are you?" She asked, catching up to me.

 

"Liam, Liam Payne. Thought you could use some help." I smiled as we reached the top of the stairs. I stopped outside what I presumed their apartment. I put the girl down gently, and walked down the stairs, only looking behind once, to make sure they were okay. They had gone inside though.

 

I ran downstairs and caught up with the boys, who had stopped to wait for me.

 

"What were you doing mate?" Louis asked.

 

"Nothing." I sighed, remembering the girl that was out of it. You could see the pain in her eyes, something was wrong, but despite that she was beautiful.

 

I remembered seeing the girls somewhere else, maybe a supermarket, or the pharmacy. The blonde girl had been crying, and the other had been looking frantically for something, I wasn't sure what.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

We finally made it back to the hotel, and all settled down in the lounge.

 

"What do you want to do?" Zayn asked.

 

"TRUTH OR DARE!" Louis and Harry yelled, making the rest of us sigh.

 

"Fine." I groaned, grabbing a cushion and sitting on the floor.

 

"YAY! Niall truth or dare?" Lou asked, joining me on the floor.

 

"Dare." He grinned, and Louis let out an evil laugh.

 

"I dare you to drink a smoothie made of jam, peanut butter, eggs, potato and broccoli." Louis said, and evil grin on his face.

 

Niall's smile fell. "Please no." He begged, but Louis just laughed again, and got up, heading to the kitchen.

 

When he was finished he brought it back out, and Niall went pale.

 

"Drink up." He smiled, and handed the glass to Niall. He took one sip and dashed off to the bathroom.

 

He came back about ten minutes later, still looking vaguely pale.

 

"Harry truth or dare." Niall groaned.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

We spent the next hour or so playing truth or dare. I answered truth every time because I was distracted by the girls I had helped. It was obvious that they weren't in a very good place.

 

"Harry, truth or dare." I heard Louis say as a sudden idea came to me.

 

"Dare." Harry said, sounding very confident.

 

"Lou." I whispered in his ear, and he turned to face me.

 

"Yeah?"

 

"Can you come with me for a sec please?" I asked, standing up. Louis gave me a weird look but obliged. I went out to the kitchen, and Louis followed quickly.

 

“What?” He asked.

 

“Earlier this evening, when I disappeared for a while, I was helping these two girls. I’ve seen them around a little bit, and they both seem broken. I was helping one of them to carry the other up the stairs, cause she was out of it for some reason. I think they live by themselves, and are on the verge of a breakdown. So I was thinking maybe you could dare Harry to kidnap them, and we could try to help them?” I rushed out. To give Louis credit, he didn’t run out of the room, screaming that I was mad.

 

“I guess,” He muttered, “But you owe me the dare I was about to give.” He grinned.

 

“Okay, deal.” I smiled as we headed back to the living room.

 

“Harry, I dare you to kidnap two girls. "Louis said as we sat down again.

 

Harry looked up in shock. “WHAT?”

 

“I dare you to kidnap two girls that Liam thinks need help, and believes we can help them.” Louis explained further, and Harry stared at him blankly.

 

“Just do it.” I groaned.

 

“Fine.” Harry said, looking mildly reluctant.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

We spent the rest of the night planning on how to do it. We organised when and how, and Zayn went out halfway through, to grab some black balaclavas.

The Next Morning

I woke up reasonably early, wanting to get to the girls whilst they were still at home. Louis was already up, jumping around the room. We had decided that I was going to stay behind, because the blonde one might recognise me, and we may need to get away quickly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hurry up!" I yelled after the boys. They were all heading towards the car, but Harry lost his balaclava, so he had spent the last ten minutes looking for it. He finally took it off and we headed around the corner, to their apartment. I pulled my balaclava on, and got out of the car.

I led the others upstairs and we quickly walked to their apartment. I tried the door, and it was locked.

"Damn." I muttered, and the others groaned. I heard something vaguely about potatoes, but ignored it. I signalled to the others to all slam into the door at the same time. They nodded and I braced myself.

The door smashed down, and there stood the blonde girl. She looked at us in shock, before running up the stairs, screaming something in a different language "CI SONO PERSONE STRANE IN CASA" (THERE ARE STRANGE PEOPLE IN THE HOUSE).

I looked weirdly before chasing her up the stairs "CHE TIPO DI GENTE STRANA" (WHAT KIND OF STRANGE PEOPLE) Someone yelled back.

"CHE INDOSSANO MASCHERE E GUARDARE RACCAPRICCIANTE E MI STANNO INSEGUENDO" (THEY ARE WEARING MASKS AND LOOK CREEPY AND THEY'RE CHASING ME). The blonde girl replied. The boys and I continued our chase. She ran into a bedroom where another girl was standing. She was the one I helped last night.

"ESEGUIRE!!!!" (run). The dark haired girl yelled, and they took off. Louis chased frantically, catching the blonde one.

"SONO GIU, MI HANNO PRESO, SALVA TE STESSO" (I'M DOWN, THEY GOT ME, SAVE YOURSELF). The blonde one yelled as Harry caught the other girl. They thrashed violently, and I didn't blame them, it was kind of scary for them.

Louis and Harry picked each girl up, as they finally stopped thrashing.

"Allora, come sta andando la vita per te?" (So, how's life going for you?) The blonde girl said happily. She looked over at me, "Abbastanza bene, a parte il fatto che stiamo attualmente essere rapiti" (Pretty good, apart from the fact we are currently being kidnapped) the dark haired one replied, smiling and the blonde one laughed.

"WHAT ARE THEY SAYING? DO THEY EVEN SPEAK ENGLISH?" Harry yelled.

"Jesus dude, no need to shout" The blonde said in English.

"What language were you speaking?" Harry asked, as we placed them into the car.

"Italian, its a good language" She replied as I took my masks off.

The girls shared a glance. "Can I just ask?" The dark haired one spoke up, "But why the hell did One Direction just kidnap us?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is obviously the last chapter of The Two Before They Changed The Fandom. We are still working on a sequel to The Two That Changed The Fandom, so look out for it :) Hope you enjoyed Lizzy and Nat's story.

**Author's Note:**

> This was finished about a month ago on Wattpad and we're currently writing the sequel to TTTCTF, which I'll start uploading here soon!


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